The United Nations has boasted of its consistent intervention to the Developmental Crisis in the North-East geo-political zone of Nigeria by providing humanitarian aid to 3.6 million vulnerable people in the region within the first half of 2023 only.

Speaking on Tuesday at the Africa Centre for Development Journalism (ACDJ) World Development Information Day Lecture for journalists and civil society organisations, Matthias Schmale, UN resident coordinator for humanitarian affairs in Nigeria, said that the organisation has prioritised the geopolitical zones above others due to the recent wave of insecurity and underdevelopment in the northeast.

Speaking on the available data regarding the lack of development in the northeast of the country, he noted that the government is sitting on gunpowder if less attention is paid to the region, adding that their situation reports have pointed out that the North East could be a threat to the country as a whole.

Identifying food insecurity and lack of education as the main issues facing the area, Mr. Schmale emphasised that real change in the Northeastern region of the nation can only come about if leaders and citizens work together to reduce underdevelopment, as the UN is trying to do.

Mr Schmale said “ We are already doing a lot of good work around the country, but we need to scale it up and invest considerably in humanitarian terms, notably in the north-east,

“We get criticised for being so focused on the north-east, although I think the data presented here today made it understandable why the zone does need to be an area of priority for development and humanitarian work. “This year, in three north-east states, we have already supported 3.6 million vulnerable people with essential humanitarian assistance in the first half of the year.

We are very well aware of the considerable number of people across Nigeria who need assistance, and many are facing food insecurity”.

Mr. Rotimi Sankore, the Executive Director and Editor-in-Chief of the Africa Centre for Development Journalism, stated in his presentation that Nigeria’s data for human development and growth has drastically decreased as a result of the country’s failure to invest in gender equality, infrastructure development, health development, and education.

He further explained that the relationship between insecurity in Nigeria and human development is crucial for peacebuilding, maintaining that lack of food production and education has afforded the insurgents the ability to keep on building their human power to raise the bar of insecurity in the country.

In addition, Mr. Sankore accused local and subnational leaders of contributing to the nation’s decline, pointing out that the majority of them neglect their main responsibilities to the federal government even though they are given funding from the federal government to carry out fundamental projects.

He however, called for direct investment in human development in the country. He also advocated for female literacy as he explained the crucial role the inclusivity plays in democracy and growth of the country.

He also urged journalists and relevant civil society organisations to pay more attention to the challenges the country is facing and the leaders at the subnational levels. He noted that it will increase the development index of the country.

He also encouraged journalists to pay attention to the data and do not let politicians get away with criminal negligence, adding the houses of assembly are not paying attention to all these data, and these are what we should be looking at.